With the advent and almost exponential growth of social media, business owners – small and large alike – everywhere have been hearing about the benefits of having a social network. Indeed, it has become indispensable because of uber-interactive social sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even YouTube. Despite this, there are still so many companies that are still in the dark about exactly how to drive traffic to your website using these social networks. A roadmap to getting the most benefit starts with these 8 tips:

Set a schedule for timely updates to your social media accounts. Far too often, small businesses allow their accounts to languish; this reduces engagement and many members don’t return. It may be necessary to employ a social media manager to stay up to speed – which could mean daily updates, weekly or several times a week, depending on the specifics of your business. Monitor it to see what works best and garners the most interaction.

Did you know that social signals count in search engine optimization? Well, they do. This is an excellent way to bump up your ranking in Google Search, by employing keywords conservatively in your posts. Add HD images for increased engagement – people love good pictures.

What’s better than good content + good images? Video! With YouTube engagement and the explosion of mobile marketing, well-made videos with a call to action at the end can mean droves of traffic for your business website – your social network will spread the word faster than any other medium.

An often overlooked method is the use of Analytics. Whether you employ Google Analytics (free) or your own customized, drillable dashboard, there really isn’t a better tool for gauging site performance than this. Analytics allows you to figure out what content resonates best with your audience, and points the way forward for future posts.

Post notes and reminders about free webinars you host. Incorporate contests into these to ratchet up social engagement even further. After the webinar, get more bang for your buck by releasing transcripts and uploading the presentations onto a popular site like Slideshare, where people can download them and spread the word.

Tweet or post from live events relevant to your industry, or that you can tie into what you offer. Be sure, as always, to include top-notch images for increased social engagement. This kind of stuff gets shared throughout networks, with incoming comments fueling the spread. Start it off yourself with good comments; it’s a fact of human nature that people want to add in their two cents.

Consider buying Facebook ads to increase your presence. Facebook will target people who have included relevant information in their profiles that suggests they might be interested in what you have to offer. OF course, you can skip paying for ads by directly by taking the time to indulge in search engine optimization and get many of those same visitors anyway.

Use your social network to build a subscriber’s list. This way, you have a bevy of consistent traffic, to whom you can pitch products for a veritable lifetime down the line. Of course, be judicious with this approach and make sure not to email too frequently.

The above tips are viable starts to increasing social engagement; implementing them is sure to lead to new avenues of investigation on how you can improve your campaign.